Fastening for ear-jewels



(No Model.) I v G'. W. WASHBURN. Fastening for Bar Jewels.

No, 241,462. Patented May 10,1881.

ATTEST! INVENTOFZ m ATTORNEY.

N. PETERS. FholO-Liihagmphsr, Washingion, D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT O EIQE.

GEORGE W. WASHBURN, OF WEST NEW BRIGHTON, NEW YORK.

FASTENING FOR EAR-J EWELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 241,462, dated May 10, 1881.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. WASHBURN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at West New Brighton, in the county of Richmond, New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fastenin gs for Ear-Jewels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for locking ear-jewels in the pierced lobes of ladies ears, so as to secure the same against being accidentally or surreptitiously detached.

The present invention consists in certain novel features of construction, hereinafter described and claimed, whereby a neat and inconspicuous curved tube is made to inclose, conceal, and protect the bolt and spring of a. secure and durable locking device, adapted to fasten automatically with a distinct click, which gives audible notice to the wearer when the ear-wire is locked. The ear-fastening is adapted tobe readily unlocked at will by the wearer or an attendant; and its manufacture in the most simple and compact form is provided for. i

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are side views of my ear-jewel fastening, showing the same respectively closed, as while worn in the ear, and opened, as in the act of attaching or detaching it. Figs. 3 and 4 are like views, with the fastening partly in section. Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively a front view and a back view of the opened fastening, and Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively a front view and a side view of it's locking-bolt.

Likeletters of reference indicate correspond.- ing parts in the several figure s.

This ear-jewel fastening is composed of two main parts, a. b, united bya hinge-joint,c. The part a is solid, and constitutes the earwire, ocombining a horizontal lobe-pin and a depending curved connection. The part b is hollow, being in the form of a curved tube matching said curved portion of the ear-wire a; and the joint has a horizontal pintle, and is construct- 4 ed with a three-part knuckle, the middle part being soldered to the ear-wire a, and serving to close the lower end of the tube 1). Within this closed end of the tube 1) a spiral spring, (1, is arranged, and above the spring a curved 5o bolt, 6, fitted to slide within the tube, and having its upper end, f, made thin to engage with a transverse notch, g, in the under side of the Application filed February 8, 1881. (No model.)

point of the ear-wire a. The bolt end and notched point interlock within a trumpetmouth, h, which is soldered to the upper end of the tube b, with its open end in front, and with a slot in its bottom corresponding with the thin end of the bolt, and which limits the projection of the latter.

It is desirable that the point ofthe ear-wire be supported within the trumpet-mouth by the top of the latter, and to this end the lobe-pin ofthe ear-wire may be sprung upward slightly; but both main parts, a b, if carefully proportioned, may be wholly free from spring. The joint 0 affords ample movement without strain in opening and closing the fastening. The spring 61 is compressed only instantaneously and within safe limits while closing the fastening. and is thus adapted to preserve its elasticity; and-by causing the trumpet-month to stop the entering ear-wire at the proper point the bolt 6 is protected against undue strain when the fastening is closed.

A retracting projection, i, on the back of the bolt 0 is accommodated by a short longitudinal slot,j, in the back of the tube b, at its upper end, and a matching projection, 70, is soldered to the back of the tube, near its lower end.

. The ear-wire a has been provided with an open ring, I, for connecting a set diamond or the like thereto as a pendant; but the jewel may be attached to the fastening in any approved way.

Any suitable metals may be used in constructing the parts, and details of shape and the like may be varied to suit different manufacturers without departin gfroni my invention.

The fastening is applied to the ear in the condition represented by Fig. 2, by inserting the and simply pressing the parts together by thumb and finger. The thin end of the bolt enters the notch of the ear-wire with a distinct click, and the fastening is then securely locked. It is unlocked by applying the finger-nail and thumb-nail to the projections i and pressing the former toward the latter, which retracts the bolt and permits the ear-wire to be withdrawn from the car.

In uniting the parts in the process of manufacture the projection i is soldered on the bolt 6, and the latter is inserted in the tube 1), the 'proj ectionbein g received by a deep notch which straight end of the ear-wire in the pierced lobe,

forms the slotj. The trumpet-mouth h is then solderedin position,and the cheeks ofthejoint c are next soldered to the lower end of the tube and the projection k on the back of the tube. The spring (Z is next inserted between the cheeks of the joint 0, followed by the middle part of the joint, which has previously been soldered on the ear-wire a, and the parts of the joint are united by inserting its pintle, said middle part of the joint forming the abutment of the spring in a substantial and simple manner.

Having thus described my ear-fastening, I claim as new and of my own invention- 1. A fastening for ear-jewels comprising an ear-wire, a, and a curved tube, b, united by a hin g'e joint, 0, and provided, respectively, with a notched point and with an inclosed lockingbolt, and an inclosed spring to project said bolt, substantially as herein described.

GEO. W. WASHBURN.

Witnesses:

ISAAC P. HUBBARD, J AS. L. EWIN. 

